IOWA CITY, Iowa — Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg scored 16 points apiece and Aday Mara hit two game-winners in the final 1:22 to help No. 3 Michigan beat Iowa State 71-68 on Thursday night.
The Wolverines (28-2, 18-1 Big Ten) were 18 points below their season average but managed to hold off the Hawkeyes (20-10, 10-9) in the final seconds.
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Iowa State went on an 11-1 run to tie the game at 64 with 1:56 left, and Mara hit a field goal before time expired to give Michigan State the lead again. Iowa’s Cam Manyawu scored inside to tie the game at 66, and Mara scored 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting, scoring on an alley-oop with 43 seconds left to keep the Wolverines ahead.
Iowa State had chances to tie the game on back-to-back possessions but missed three shots on one possession and gave the ball away after a Tavion Banks turnover with seven seconds left.
Lundborg hit two free throws with four seconds left and the Hawkeyes had a final chance to tie the game, but Bennett Stietz’s 3-pointer went too far.
Elliot Cadeau added 11 points for the Big Ten regular-season champion Wolverines.
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Stietz led Iowa State with 21 points. Manyau has 14.
Michigan outrebounded the Hawkeyes 38-25.
The game was tied at 30 at halftime. Michigan shot 50% but committed 12 turnovers, cutting Iowa’s deficit to 16 points.
The Hawkeyes shot 11-of-31 from the field, with Stietz having a particularly difficult time shooting. Stietz, Iowa’s leading scorer this season, hit just one of his first nine shots before hitting back-to-back 3-pointers within 27 seconds to give Iowa a 30-28 lead.
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Michigan State: Hosts No. 8 Michigan State on Sunday.
Iowa State: No. 9 Nebraska on Sunday.
